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On the Fence: Nintendo Switch

Since March 3rd, the Nintendo Switch has been a hot topic. I often answer the phone at work expecting to finish my spiel with “and we are out the Nintendo Switch company-wide,” just because it sells so quickly. I went on about the Switch in an earlier article mostly ranting about the issues with Nintendo (and now there are component manufacturing issues slowing down distribution), and though I still believe Nintendo has a lot of issues to fix, I will still back that they make excellent products.

The biggest complaint I hear about our little baby Switch is “but it has no games!” Well, duh! It’s been on the market a little over three months with only two real games to accompany it-Breath of the Wild and Snipperclips. Now there are quite a few games after only three full months, with some highlights being the recent ARMS, Has-Been Heroes (on PS4, Xbox One, and PC as well), and of course, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. There are so many amazing planned games for this year and next, many of which I talked about after the Nintendo E3 video conference. Not to mention, the Switch is so incredibly warm to indie games both digital and physical, so I can imagine that it opens a world for gamers and developers.

There are a good deal of pros to offset that one con, too. The console is not only super portable, but would never feel out of place if it never left its dock and you only ever used the Pro controller with it to play. I mentioned that the system was indie-inclusive, which totally opens up a whole variety of games, but even the AAA titles have a lot of freedom. The recent fighting game, ARMS, is a lot like a traditional fighting game in that it’s 1 v 1 and you need to be able to use strategy alongside reflex to meet the challenge of even the AI, but this time you’re throwing the punches. You actually use the Joy-Con in your hands to throw punches, block, and move. It at least feels incredibly innovative, and shows the possibilities left for developers. On top of all that, the battery life is surprisingly good. When I went on my first road trip with the Nintendo Switch, I was concerned that I didn’t have a car charger, but for the first three-hour leg of the trip, I had no issues. It charges a bit slowly, but that didn’t matter much as I was able to play Breath of the Wild for three hours without so much of a “low console battery” warning.

Now, there are more cons than “not much for games right now.” The Joy-Con, for starters, is ridiculously expensive. I’ve been wanting to pick up a second set, but that would put me out around $100. I’m not joking. The Joy-Con are $50 a pop, with pre-packaged sets costing about $90 (that is, if you can find them in a set). The Pro controller costs a reasonable, expected $60, but that’s not good for all games. The controller cost alone makes it difficult for it to become a family console. Joy-Con price aside, the dock isn’t very portable. Say you travel between two locations often. You have two realistic choices: buy another dock and leave it there ($80), or take it with you. The dock isn’t very portable and although it’s relatively small compared to most consoles themselves, it’s a bit difficult to find a neat way to wrap everything up and tote it along. Finally, it’s not readily available. Like, anywhere. The excuse we give for only having it in bundles (that is, when they actually let us sell bundles), is to ward off the evil resellers because in order to return the games with the bundle, you have to return the whole bundle, so it makes it difficult for resellers to sell the console itself and justify the price. This, in turn, limits availability and makes it hard for real consumers to justify the markup on it. Granted, they save in the long run on games and accessories, and the bundles are only $400-500 in comparison to the normal $300, but it still limits those on a budget.

So, what would I recommend? Now, I did receive the Switch as a gift, but had I been purchasing it myself, I would have waited a bit longer. There are going to a huge number of games dropping around the holidays, and with the upcoming gifting seasons, it will most definitely be more accessible and there will be a larger variety of bundles available on the market. I definitely recommend it to not only Nintendo fans, but also almost everyone. There either is or will be a variety of games for almost any type of gamer out there, and the system will fit in with a variety of lifestyles as well. The console itself is reasonably priced, and if you play alone, having the one set of Joy-Con and the Pro controller is more than enough.

Let me know what you think, and if you have any suggestions for other articles! I love reading comments and talking with you guys!

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52 thoughts on “On the Fence: Nintendo Switch”

Going into e3, I was so ready to buy a switch the second Monster Hunter XX was announced for localization… With all my dreams being crushed, so has my enthusiasm for purchasing a Switch anytime soon.

Splatoon 2 and Super Mario Odyssey look fabulous, but with all the great PS4 games I’ve yet to unwrap, it’s difficult justifying the purchase right now. I’ll probably do what I did with the Wii U, and buy the Switch later on its life, once a bunch of great games have been released. Should solve the issue of it having no games, am I right?

As an early adopter of the Xbox 360, I swore to never buy another console during launch ever again haha.

Honestly, my biggest concern is that Nintendo will release a second iteration of the Switch somewhere down the line. It’s been a long time since Nintendo released an update of their home consoles, but given the Switch’s unique position as both a home console and handheld, this seems more likely. It doesn’t help that Sony released the PS4 Pro, with the Xbox One X incoming.

I only hope that if Nintendo does update the Switch, they don’t go as crazy as they did with the 3DS.

I’m deleting your comments because I’m tired of this. Free speech gives you the right to post, but doesn’t protect you against consequences of it, like me blocking you, marking you as spam, or telling you that you’re an idiot/jerk/troll, because blocking my ability to do those things would actually violate free speech. Learn your amendments.

That’s the difference between you and I. I would fight for your free speech and right to criticise. You think criticism is insulting. I leave now and let you make this blog a “safe space no free thought or knives allowed

When did I say I didn’t want to be connected on social media? To you yea but I have a huge social media presence with many many followers. I will be waiting for a thank you for bringing so much activity to your site since I owe you for making me lose my job

If you actually buy physical games, it’s a good deal-especially if you register your account and use the buy 2 get one preowned coupon. If you hardly ever buy physical games, there’s not much point unless you really want the magazine.
I can do a little blurb on it in more detail if you’d like.

But is 30 for a year and you only get the 20% off of pre owned I buy mostly new games so it’s difficult for me to find the value in either tier of the membership basic, pro or elite. I suppose the buy 2 get 1 could be worth the 15 easily as a 1 time thing if there were 3 pre owned games I hadn’t picked up yet. But 30 is just too much when other retailers give discounts off new.

$15/yr, first of all. There are occasionally discounts for pre-ordering (a topic all its own), and technically it’s 10% off pre-owned, but that’s 10% off of whatever the % difference between new and pre-owned is. Plus you get 20 points per dollar spent and, again, if you buy a lot of physical games, that means you gain points quickly and those can be used for discounts on future purchases when you get enough.
Again, it’s not for everyone. I got mine for the magazine alone ($15 for a year of a monthly periodical is a good price), and I get the other benefits as well.

Oh I was specifically asking about the new elite tier rolling out this fall supposedly according to articles on the web and employee communication screenshots from Gamestops information hub. It will be 29.99 for the year. 20% off pre owned 20% more on trades including tech. 3 points per dollar a buy 2 get 1 free coupon and year of Game informer plus a collectible welcome gift

Dude the company has told me 0 on this so far. There’s a manager conference going on this week, so I’ll probably hear more when they get back. But I can do a blurb on that when they get back if you’d like

But also I would honestly upgrade because I would find it useful. It’s $30 for a YEAR. People drop way more to play online games ($60-$100+ depending on payment method). This is savings on products and getting benefits on the things you already get. I know I’d get the value out of it.

But if one doesn’t use it it doesn’t matter how much it costs for a year it wouldn’t be worth it. I understand 3 points per dollar helps with getting coupons but like I stated I mostly buy new I don’t see how this helps me. If I buy 300$ worth of games how many points is that?

300×30, so like 9,000
It’s $9 worth of value, yeah, but I’m not trying to force it. You said it yourself, too: if you don’t use it, it doesn’t matter.
My opinion based off what you told me and what a quick google search told me is that I’d do it, because I see the value in it for myself. I know a lot of people that go to my store that would benefit from upgrading to it as well, but I also know quite a few that the normal pro membership would be fine for, and that just having a basic/no membership is cool. A lot of people buy steam cards and network cards from us, and they wouldn’t benefit much at all.

I am a pro member already haha got it for the magazine mostly as well. 14.99 for 12 issues is robbery. Used the buy 2 get 1 to pick up 3 games I had been wanting and it was a great deal. Vidya place deserves some hate but it gets way more than it deserves.

There ya go. Different companies have different deals. Just has to do with what you’re in the market for and how you buy. And honestly? I always recommend that you go with what you feel would be best for you after you get all the information, and not what my company recommends is best for you. At the end of the day, to them it’s all about money. To me, I’d like to see customers return, and sometimes that takes telling them the truth and making THEM happy, not the company.